Author: Press Room

ADVERTISEMENTA Cyprus court has sentenced a Syrian national to five years in prison for helping 31 Syrian migrants reach the Mediterranean island nation on board an overloaded boat, the attorney general’s office has said.The office said in a statement that the Syrian man, himself a migrant, was convicted on three charges including people trafficking and aiding migrants to enter Cyprus.The court ruled that he struck a deal with traffickers to captain the boat from an unnamed Syrian port in exchange for not having to pay the fee for the journey.The statement didn’t say when the boat reached Cyprus.According to the ruling, the…

Liquidators of Burns Group 2018 Ltd — which owes more than $2 million — are considering their options to enforce an agreement for the sale and purchase of its shares in a subsidiary company. An order was made in the High Court at Dunedin in March, 2023, to place Burns Group 2018 Ltd — of which beleaguered businessman Malcolm Burns is the sole director — into liquidation, on the application of Inland Revenue. The company’s shares are split between Mr Burns and Leonard Cheng. It operated as a holding company with passive investment of three subsidiary companies: Titan Bulk Haulage…

The Government wants to “turbocharge” global marketing to international visitors, with a new $13.5 million investment in Tourism New Zealand.Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston made the announcement with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Auckland this afternoon, where the pair visited the Weta Workshop Unleashed exhibition.The service sector in New Zealand — which includes tourism, retail and hospitality — has been struggling to recover and gain traction in recent months.Upston said the Government was relentlessly focused on economic growth and data showed tourism would play a leading role.”Today I’m delighted to announce a $13.5 million investment for Tourism New Zealand…

ADVERTISEMENTA former Conservative lawmaker is among 15 people who have been charged with cheating over bets placed on the timing of the UK’s 2024 general election.Craig Williams, who was the MP for Montgomeryshire and parliamentary private secretary to ex-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the time he placed the bet, was one of several individuals investigated for cashing in on insider knowledge on the date that Sunak would call the election.It’s legal for politicians and party officials in the UK to wager on elections, but the investigation examined whether they used inside information to gain an unfair advantage.Sunak took most by…

Just like its owner, 169 Haven St in Moeraki is described as having an “abundance of character”. The property, which housed celebrated restaurant Fleurs Place, the domain of inimitable restaurateur Fleur Sullivan, is on the market, having been closed since the Covid pandemic. The restaurant, on the shores of the Moeraki harbour, was established on an early whaling station site in 2002 and was built from gathered collectables and demolition materials from all over New Zealand. Ms Sullivan initially made her mark in Central Otago at Olivers restaurant, before further carving her name in the history of the country’s foodie…

Residents around Whanganui have reported feeling a light shake as a magnitude 4.2 earthquake hit 45km south-west of Waverley this afternoon.According to GeoNet, the earthquake happened at about 4.05pm, and was substantially deep at 75km.As of 4.10pm, 518 people reported feeling the movement. Five people described it as strong, while 140 reported it as light and 392 described it as weak.Those who reported feeling the shake were located as far south as Motueka and as far north as Waitara, near New Plymouth.

ADVERTISEMENTThe European Union has secured “two-thirds” of the money necessary to deliver two million artillery shells to Ukraine, High Representative Kaja Kallas said on Monday, urging countries to ramp up their military support as the United States takes a step back.An estimated €5 billion will be required to meet the target by the end of the year.”We still don’t have 100% but we definitely need to move forward with that,” Kallas told reporters after a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Luxembourg.”A large majority of member states agreed that we need to do more.”The ammunition initiative is considered the most…

Police have laid new charges against a 22-year-old man over the death of a Filiipino tradesman, and the injuring of another, after a car crash in the Auckland suburb of Penrose last month.Police told the Manukau District Court today that results from blood analysis had led to the 22-year-old, who had interim name suppression, now being charged with causing the death of Jesan Tampus, and causing injury to another Filipino national. A previous charge of reckless driving was withdrawn.Police said the accused’s blood alcohol level was 105 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milligrams of blood. The legal limit for drivers…

ADVERTISEMENTThe latest report by the European Drought Observatory paints a worrying picture of drought across southern, eastern, and central Europe.The Iberian Peninsula faces the most critical conditions with several red warnings, the result of alternating periods of drought and intense winter and spring precipitation. In 2023, Spain already had the largest territory affected by drought, at 34,000 square km, followed by Poland with 24,000 and Lithuania with 20,000.At the same time, orange warnings are present in swathes of Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Poland, Belarus, most of Ukraine, as well as Ireland, Scotland and a few spots in Germany and France. Cyprus…

One of Auckland’s main mayoral candidates is encouraging a potential opponent to throw her hat in the ring after current mayor Wayne Brown took a jab at her.Kerrin Leoni accused Brown of “bully behaviour” after he claimed his deputy mayor, Desley Simpson, who was considering going up against him for the city’s top job, was only interested in helping her constituents buy Lamborghinis.Brown later apologised for the comments which he made during an interview with the NZ Herald.”I’ve raised this a number of times with him. He’s the mayor of Auckland and, given his position, he shouldn’t be making comments…